


Scrabble

by oddshine



Category: Sam & Max
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Max has ADHD, Mild Hurt/Comfort, and dyslexia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25482232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddshine/pseuds/oddshine
Summary: Max hasn't always been fond of Sam's family's game nights, but this particular night was probably the least enjoyable.
Relationships: Max/Sam (Sam & Max)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 71





	Scrabble

**Author's Note:**

> as someone with adhd and dyslexia, max has become a sort of comfort character for me ;; 
> 
> he's definitely not what id call appropriate representation... which is why I'm making it my job to make his character ten times more deeper than it need to be XD

Max tapped his fingers on the DeSoto door's armrest as he sat in the passenger seat, half-listening to Sam recounting the night wistfully. He and Sam were just getting back from a game night with Sam's family. They did this on rare occasions, and when they did, they'd usually all play games like charades, cards, or Candyland. Now he wasn't going to say that most game nights were ever sensational; he found them pretty lackluster. However, tonight Sam's family had decided to play scrabble. The game's name wasn't anything he was unfamiliar with; yet, he had never played it till tonight. 

He couldn't understand the appeal honestly, the game felt nearly impossible to play. You practically needed to have the webster dictionary memorized just to play the damn game. How can anyone have fun just spelling?? Maybe it was just him being a sore loser that was talking. Everyone else seemed to have had a good time—especially Sam, with his uncanny knowledge of uncommon vocabulary. The whole time they played, he couldn't get a single score either because he couldn't figure out how to spell the word he had in mind or didn't know one altogether. Sure, Sam could've probably helped him figure spelling out; however, he had already felt humiliated enough when the idea came to mind. It had felt like he was in high school English class all over again, it was infuriating! 

Now he was just staring out of the car window the whole trip back home, fuming over how the night went as Sam babbled about how much fun he had. Once the DeSoto came to a stop, he stopped his incessant finger thrumming and got out of the car to join Sam as he headed up to the front of their apartment complex. Sam opened the door, letting max go first. During their walk to the apartments, Sam must've noticed max's frustration at some point because he had stopped talking by the time he closed the door behind him. Max made it halfway up the stairs when Sam stopped at the bottom of the stairs and spoke again. "er, are you alright, max? you seem a bit... piqued-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP SAM??" he snapped.

He tensed, realizing how brash he was acting. It wasn't Sam's fault he was so irritated, at least not for the _most_ part. He turned back to see Sam startled by his reaction, couldn't blame him honestly. He smoothed his ears back as he collected himself. " 'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to come off so..." he started, trying to think of an appropriate word. "brusque?" Sam asked. Max let out a sigh as he pulled his hand down his face. "sure, whatever.' he responded, turning his eyes away from Sam. Neither of them moved from their place on the stairs. He let his hand fall to the stair railing, tapping his finger against it. All the frustration he was feeling in the car before had turned into more like self-loathing at this point. He clenched his fists, his gut twisting with the terrible feeling. 

"Sam? do ya think I'm an idiot?" Max asked as he turned to Sam, his voice sounding smaller than he'd like to admit. "Sometimes," Sam replied, a teasing smile on his face. Max chuckled at the statement. At least he's honest. He's sure Sam's just trying to be funny; however, the humor was lost o him with the mood he was in. "why?" Sam continued, "did someone call ya one? Do I need to take care of 'em?" Max waved his hand in dismissal, "no no sam, its nothin like that. You can cool your jets." he tried assuring. He turned back and continued his ascent up the stairs.

"Your not an idiot, ya know." Sam stated, "pretty damn clever if you ask me."

Max let out a snicker as he stopped at the top of the stairs. Clever? Now he's heard everything. "now your just buttering me up, Sam." he murmured with a small grin. He turned back to see Sam halfway up the stairs. Sam took a couple of steps closer to him, then stopped to where they were nearly eye level. " I'm serious, Max," Sam said sternly, and something about that statement hurt. Every shred of a front max was trying to hold felt torn by just those few words. 

It wasn't that he didn't believe Sam, he knew Sam would never lie to him to hurt him. Like he _could_. It was _what_ Sam was saying that Max couldn't swallow. He looked down at Sam, unable to meet his eyes. Heaven forbid what Sam would see in his eyes.

"For all the time I've known ya, you've accomplished feats no one else would dare t' fathom. There are tons of cases I can recall I probably wouldn't 've been able to solve had it not been for you. wouldn't ask to work with anyone else." Max felt his heart skip a beat as Sam placed his hands on Max's shoulders and gingerly rubbing his thumbs across his fur. "Just 'cause ya see things differently than other people do doesn't mean you're any less for it. " Max felt dizzy from the sincerity in Sam's voice. It wasn't something he was used to, especially without being able to dismiss it with a witty remark. It was quiet for a moment. Sam looked like he was trying to figure out what else to say. After a few moments, Sam spoke again, "You're a very astute guy, Max."

Max furrowed his brows at the word. "what the hell does that mean?" Max asked 

"it means your acute."

"Aw you sly dog you! your pretty stunnin' yourself." Max teased with a wink, turning from Sam's grasp to head to their apartment. Sam rolled his eyes as he followed close behind. "not cute, doofus. Acute."

"Am I suppose to be hearing a difference?"

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoyed the fic! feel free to send promts or suggestions to my twitter, Tumblr, or ao3!!!


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